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Cardiac Muscle Cell-based Actuator and Self-stabilizing Biorobot - Part 2

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Recent progress in engineering functional biohybrid robots actuated by living cells.

Lin Gao¹, M Usman Akhtar², Fan Yang¹

¹Department of Mechanical Engineering, Xian Jiaotong University, 28 Xianning West Road, Xian Shaanxi 710049, China; State Key Lab for Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Xian Jiaotong University, Xian Shaanxi 710049, China.

Acta Biomaterialia

|December 7, 2020

Summary

This review explores biohybrid robots, which use living cells as biological actuators. Advances in biofabrication enable muscle cells to power robotic systems for diverse applications.

Keywords:

Biohybrid robots Biomimetics Cardiomyocytes Fabrication Skeletal muscles

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Area of Science:

Biomedical Engineering
Robotics
Tissue Engineering

Background:

Living cells offer scalable actuation for robotic systems.
Biofabrication and tissue engineering enable cell-technology interfaces.
Biohybrid robots integrate biological components with artificial structures.

Purpose of the Study:

To review progress in engineering biological actuators for biohybrid robots.
To discuss the performance of biohybrid robots in biomimetic tasks.
To outline challenges and future directions in biohybrid robot development.

Main Methods:

Fabrication of biological actuators using cardiomyocytes, skeletal muscles, insect tissues, and neuromuscular tissues.
Development of 2D sheets and 3D constructs for biological actuators.
Engineering cellular attributes for enhanced robotic performance.

Main Results:

Demonstrated fabrication of diverse biological actuators.
Showcased biohybrid robot performance in swimming, walking, gripping, and pumping tasks.
Identified key areas for future development in living material engineering and robotic systems.

Conclusions:

Biohybrid robots represent a promising frontier in robotics, leveraging biological actuation.
Continued advancements in biofabrication, modeling, and manufacturing are crucial.
Multifunctional biohybrid robotic systems offer significant potential for future applications.